What do Notre Dame and Alabama have in common?

(This post is from Feb. 2006 but is posted back here because its so long and not of interest to many Na Zdrowie readers)

Last month, the NCAA released the lastest graduation rate figures. Notre Dame did well and should be proud. But graduation rates only give part of the story. Usually lost in the discussions of graduation rates is the quality of the classes taken to earn a degree. This is a major factor in determining academic rigor and is much more difficult to quantify and rank.

My only first hand experience in this realm is at Notre Dame. Having been a four year student athlete there, I can tell you that ND's academic requirements for student athletes are stringent. You have plenty of help available, but you can't just come to Notre Dame to focus on your sport - you need to carry a pretty full load of real courses. And unlike many big time schools, there are no "athletes only" classes in South Bend. This is one reason why it drives me insane when people claim its the same everywhere, that everybody does this.

No. Its not the same. That's just an excuse.

Although the academic criteria for getting a great athlete admitted to Notre Dame is unquestionably lower than the student body at large, once admitted, that student athlete is expected to perform reasonably well among a peer group of extremely intelligent students. This is not the case everywhere. Schools that point to their high number of Academic All-Americans often ignore this fact. Its not difficult to be an Academic All-American when your classes are easy.

So, by the way, who leads the country in Academic All-Americans? The University of Nebraska. I'm not kidding. Its interesting that Nebraska also awards academic credit for physical conditioning classes tailored to a varsity sport.

But let's move from a big state institution located in the wheatfields of middle America to a much smaller private school situated in the sunny climes of southern California. Southern Cal quareterback Matt Leinart took just one class this year to remain eligible. The class: ballroom dancing. That's it. That is all Southern Cal required of him to count him as a student and play on its football team. This sort of thing actually happens at many schools. These types of "student-athletes" are essentially professional athletes who can devote 100 % of their time to football. To call such men students is dishonest. Its like calling me a plumber because a few weeks ago I went to Lowe's, bought a new kitchen faucet and installed it. (But that is another story for another time).

Another example: At Kansas State, football players are required by the university to take only two courses in the fall: varsity football for three academic credits and something else. Do you notice something here? Have you ever heard of a Kansas State player flunking out? It doesn't happen often because all the football players generally get "A's" for their football class. Even if they get an "F" in their other course, they will still maintain a 2.0 gpa and remain eligible.

Besides the fact that many major universities allow their football players to earn academic credit for playing football, have you ever heard the allegations that many big universities have deliberately delayed semester grade reporting until after the bowl games so as to ensure the eligiblilty of their players? I have no time to investigate this persistent rumor, but I can say one thing for sure, "Not in my backyard."

(Another interesting but tangential point that I can't resist making is the comparison of white and black graduation rates for football players. At Notre Dame, the number is identical. At many places whites do much better than blacks. For example, at Michigan - whose coaches are well known by Notre Dame coaches for telling recruits that Notre Dame is a hostile place for minorities - the black graduation rate is significantly lower than the white rate. Is this considered sound logic in Ann Arbor? I think most UM professors would disagree.)

So here is the bottom line: Until serious reform is undertaken, the world of college football needs Notre Dame (and the few other programs with similar standards) to succeed on the football field, if only to prove that a program can win with respectable academics. Any Notre Dame football success is truly remarkable because Notre Dame does not compete on anything close to a level playing field with most of their opponents. ND student athletes have to balance much more and work much harder in areas other than football. Remember, these are not the superhuman "he-men" they appear to be on t.v. They are 18-22 year old kids. They are not grown up. Its very hard on them to handle everything. That's not a complaint, its just a fact.

I'm proud that my alma mater operates differently and I hope we never change. I'd rather begin competition at a strong disadvantage than ever "sell out" in pursuit of more victories. I hope we can win a National Championship someday soon to prove that you can be successful with young men who are really being educated. And I'm not touting our way of doing business just because I'm a Notre Dame man. I became a Notre Dame man because I believe in our way of doing business.

So how about this truly radical proposal to renew the integrity of college football: Level the playing field. First, require college athletes to take a minimum number of credit hours in real academic courses. Then, require the BCS to include graduation rates as a component of their rankings. If your graduation rate isn't good, you're not eligible for the bowls. Now that would get the attention of the fooball factories real quick! Athletics would be restored to its proper place in an educational environment. The tail would no longer be wagging the dog.

Anyway, back to the beginning. Want to see the difference between Alabama and Notre Dame? Alabama finished 8th in the A.P. Top 25, Notre Dame finished 9th. Now check out this info from USA Today :

Football - Reshuffling the final regular-season USA TODAY football coaches' poll according to each school's football graduation rate: *

Team (poll rank) Rate
1. Notre Dame (6) 96%
2. Clemson (23) 94%
3. Boston College (19) 89%
4. Texas Christian (14) 86%
5. Penn State (3) 84%
6. Florida (18) 80%
7. Texas Tech (15) 73%
8. Virginia Tech (12) 72%
9. Michigan (21) 68%
10. Miami, Fla. (9) 67%; Wisconsin (20) 67%
Division I-A average 65%
12. West Virginia (11) 64%
13. Oregon (5) 63%; UCLA (17) 63%
15. Auburn (7) 59%
16. Iowa (25) 58%
17. Southern California (1) 55%
18. Ohio State (4) 54%
19. Georgia Tech (24) 53%
20. Florida State (22) 52%
21. LSU (10) 51%
22. Louisville (16) 47%
23. Georgia (8) 45%
24. Texas (2) 40%
25. Alabama (13) 39%

* New NCAA graduation success rate, which takes transfers and early draft departures into account. Four-class averages are for scholarship players entering school from 1995-98

Quite a difference.

(Some information taken from the Washington Post)